The Master (2012)
First of all, I totally understand why some people would hate this movie. Actually, I watched a short trailer back before the film came out (not the one I posted) and honestly thought it looked wack, and I consider myself a PTA fan. Having finally seen it, all I can say is I'm glad I did.

I don't consider myself a pretentious film snob asshole, but when I tell people I really enjoyed the acting, camera work, even the picture quality of The Master, some of them look at me like I am one. For the record, I enjoy reading and talking about movies and checking out people's theories about the underlying meaning/themes of some movies. So, I guess I could possibly be an asshole film snob.

The main criticism I've read is that The Master is about nothing, there's no payoff. People who hate the movie say that people who like it are basically fronting, pretending like they "understand" the movie, but in reality there's no substance to the film at all and they are just riding PTA's nutsack and trying to come off smarter than they actually are. Ok, whatever. I liked the movie.

The Master is loosely based on the life of L. Ron Hubbard and the origins of Scientology. I don't know much about Scientology, but just knowing some of the basic info about the pseudo religion made the movie more interesting and it was also interesting to see how this cult started out, a cult that would decades later mind**** the **** out Tom Cruise.

The movie drifts from reality to dream state. Although it feels similar in tone to There Will Be Blood at times, The Master is more fluid, and has a less of Kubrick influence than Anderson's last picture. Having said that, I'm wondering if this movie has any chance to be like Eyes Wide Shut, a film that many people I know thought sucked, but one film I think is better than people think it is, especially after repeat viewings. But anyways, watch The Master at your own risk. It's not everybody's cup of tea (or pee). 9/10

Django Unchained (2012)
You already know what to expect when it comes to a Tarantino movie and this delivers on all possible ends. Jamie Foxx is bad ass and Cristoph Waltz puts in a top notch performance, while DiCaprio is better than expected. In what is certainly the most controversial character, Sam Jackson takes a huge risk playing a character most actors wouldn't have the balls to portray. IMO, the whole movie is entertaining (not to mention extremely violent) and doesn't seem like it's 2 hrs and 45 minutes long. Really, the only thing I didn't like about the movie was all the coward Internet racists coming out the woodwork to spew their inbred hateful thoughts about Black people instead of discussing one of the best movies of last year. 9/10

John Dies At The End (2012)
Man, this was a real nice surprise. If you are a fan of movies like the original Evil Dead series, Re-Animator, and The Hidden, then this one is definitely for you. A horror comedy about a crazy-ass drug that... well, just watch it yourself. Lots of fun. 8.5/10.

Ted (2012)
Better and funnier than I thought it would be. Some good laughs. 7/10

The Ice Pirates (1984)
This is the only movie I've seen that has space herpes jokes. (It's been a while since I seen Spaceballs, but I doubt there's space herpes jokes in it from what I remember.) Ice Pirates is a mess, and overall is not a good movie, but was worth peeping just to trip out on all the weird shit going on, stuff like ripping off scenes straight from Star Wars, a dinner scene spoofing Alien, and the mixing of subtle racism, mild homosexuality and softcore hetero porn into a movie that looks like it was supposed to be aimed for kids. Starring Robert Urich (Dan Tanna from Vega$) with a small role by NFL lineman John Matuszak, it actually has some alright sets and robots and makes you wonder what might have been if they had made a serious movie with a good script instead of this weird shit full of space herp. 4.75/10

Goon (2011)
If you dig sports flicks, this is your movie. Reminiscent of the great hockey movie Slap Shot, this is a highly enjoyable story about a dim-witted team enforcer, more popularly known as "goons," who's only real job on the ice is to fight other teams and to protect their own star player. Seann William Scott is really good as Doug Glatt, a bouncer who finds his life's true calling as a hockey thug. (Liev Schreiber as his arch nemesis is also very good.) Some of the story is kinda cliche, but what do you expect it's a sport movie! Recommended. 8.5/10

Looper (2012)
I like this movie. At various points it reminded me of Inception, Blade Runner, Terminator 2, Firestarter, etc. The plot revolves around a lucrative assassination business involving time travel. The men who do these jobs are called "loopers." Joseph Gordon-Levitt (looking all weird) is the looper we follow. He has some very difficult decisions to make in this sci-fi action thriller worth seeing. 8.5/10

The Raid: Redemption (2011)
Wall to wall action, very entertaining. It almost feels like a zombie movie, but it's a cop movie that mixes martial arts and gun violence. The last 10 minutes or so were kind of a let down though, but it's still a dope flick. 8/10

Killer Joe (2011)
After making 20 shitty rom-coms in a row, Matthew McConaughey is finally in another movie that doesn't suck (this one directed by William Friedkin, the director of The Exorcist). Before going any further, be warned: this is a really twisted movie. A completely demented, mentally challenged trailer park hick family devise a murder plot and enlist the services of Killer Joe (McConaughey), a police detective who moonlights as a hitman. There's tons of nudity (you see Gina Gershon's bush), extreme situations (the infamous chicken scene is hardcore and very uncomfortable to watch) and the characters have some pretty fucked up morals (or are just plain ol' fucked up). This movie is bound to have some viewers react to it in a very hostile manner. But it's very well paced with plenty of plot twists and some very dark humor (the dialog is very good; the movie is based on a play). The only thing is that the ending is one of those type of endings that some people won't like. 8/10

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Way too talky film about the capture of Osama bin Laden that's like two and half hours long but only gets really good in the last 30 minutes. And I'm the kind of person who likes film dialog and can appreciate a good story, but here we get the redhead female CIA agent doing the same thing over and over, talking to her male superiors in a flippant manner, and then they react with a condescending smirk repeatedly. But it's not all bad, there's some good scenes throughout, but it just wasn't as good as the hype. 6.5/10

***WARNING: TRAILER CONTAINS SPOILERS***

The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
Would have never watched this movie but kept hearing how good it was so I gave it a shot the other night when I had some free time. Without giving too much away for those who haven't seen it (and really, if you're gonna watch it, the less you know beforehand the better it probably is), this is not a straight-up "conventional" horror flick. Anyways, I thought it was pretty cool. Reading about the film afterwards, apparently this movie has got a lot of hardcore fans who defend it against any critics. I appreciated what the filmmakers were trying to do and thought it was a decent movie, but I don't think I was as blown away as the hardcore fans. It has an interesting script, but the best thing about the film was a sequence late in the movie when sh*t goes very bad after some buttons are pushed. 7.5/10

***WARNING: TRAILER CONTAINS SPOILERS***

Searching For Sugar Man (2012)
Cool documentary about obscure Detroit musician Rodriguez who released two dope albums in the early '70s but never blew up here in America and as the story goes committed suicide on stage. It's definitely worth seeing to discover a humble man who made some amazing music. 8/10

Saw the True Grit remake for the first time the other day. I loved it as it was an entertaining movie with great acting, especially from the little girl she really surprised me.

I get some of the criticisms of it though. All of the uneducated old west people talk with great vocabulary and such, although it was unrealistic I found it to make the movie a bit better. Also the soundtrack was really good.